Sign a PDF document online for free, from any device
The old routine: print the form, sign it, scan it, email it back. It wastes paper and the scan comes out crooked. When you sign PDF online, the whole thing takes a minute and the page stays as sharp as the original.
It is free with no strings attached. There is no trial, no page limit, no watermark and no sign-up: we never ask for an email address or an account. Use it to sign a PDF document such as a rental agreement, an offer letter, a consent form, a delivery note or a school permission slip.
The tool is small on purpose. It helps you sign a PDF file yourself and send it on your way. It does not email documents to other people for their signatures, and it does not track who signed what.
What is an eSign PDF, and what is a PDF signature?
People ask what an eSign PDF is, and the answer is simple. It is a PDF document that has been signed on a screen instead of on paper. The signature is added electronically, either as a drawing, as typed text in a handwriting style, or, in the strict legal form, as a certificate attached to the file. All three are called eSigning, which is why the word confuses so many people.
And what is a PDF signature exactly? In this tool it is a small transparent picture of your handwriting, drawn onto the page at the spot you choose. The page keeps its text, fonts and layout, and the picture sits on top, just as ink would sit on paper. When the file is saved, the picture becomes part of the page. Keep your unsigned original in case you need a clean copy again.
How to eSign a PDF document in under a minute
Here is how to eSign a PDF when you are in a hurry: select the file, tap Draw it, sign with your finger, tap Use this signature, drag it to the line, press Save signed PDF. That is the whole method. If you need to know how to eSign a PDF document that has a date field too, tap Text / date after placing the signature and type the date beside it before you save.
How to add a signature to a PDF: draw it or type it
There are two free ways to add a signature to a PDF here, and you can try both before you choose. Either way, the signature has a transparent background, so lines and text under it still show through the way ink on paper would.
Draw your signature with finger, mouse or stylus
A drawn signature looks most like your real one. On a phone or tablet, turn the screen sideways and sign with your fingertip or a stylus. On a laptop, use the mouse or go slowly on the trackpad. Not happy with it? Tap Clear and try again. This is the closest thing to pen and paper when you add a signature to a PDF online.
Type your name as a signature
If drawing with a mouse gives you a shaky scrawl, switch to Type it. Enter your full name and it appears in a flowing handwriting font. It is neat and quick, a good choice on an office computer with no touch screen.
Place, resize, and add the date
After you press Use this signature, it lands in the middle of the page. Drag it to the signature line. Need to sign on several pages? Move to the next page and press New signature. When you sign a PDF form, use the Text / date tool to type today's date, your printed name or a place next to the signature, in the same black or blue ink.
If the form has many blanks to fill, such as address and phone number, you may find it easier to fill and edit the PDF first and sign it at the end.
Sign PDF pages one after another, and undo mistakes
Long agreements often want initials on every sheet. To sign several PDF pages, place the first signature, use the page arrows to move on, and press New signature on each page that needs one. Your drawn signature is kept in the box until you close the tab, so you don't draw it again ten times.
The tool behaves like a small sign PDF editor while you work: tap a placed signature to move or resize it, use the bin icon to delete it, and press Undo to step back. Nothing is final until you click Save signed PDF.
eSign PDF vs digital signature: know which one you need
The two get mixed up a lot. When you eSign a PDF here, you place an image of your signature on the page. That is a simple electronic signature. A digital signature is different: it uses a personal certificate, issued by an authority, to lock the file with cryptography and prove who signed it.
Signing a PDF electronically like this is fine for a huge range of everyday paperwork, and many countries accept simple electronic signatures for ordinary agreements. But some receivers demand more. If a bank, court or government portal asks for a certificate, a drawn signature will not pass.
Can I sign a PDF with DSC, a certificate or a CAC here?
No. This tool can't sign a PDF with DSC tokens, and it can't sign a PDF with a certificate stored on your computer or smart card. That also means you can't sign or eSign a PDF with CAC (the Common Access Card used by US defence staff) through this page. Those methods need software that talks to the USB token or card reader. If you are asked to sign a PDF with a digital signature of that kind, use the signing utility that came with your token.
One more meaning of the phrase: if you just need to sign a PDF certificate, like a course completion or experience certificate you are issuing, that works fine. Open it, place your signature above your name, and save.
Signing PDFs for ICEGATE, PayManager and similar portals
Indian customs filing is strict: to sign a PDF for ICEGATE you need a Class 3 DSC, and an image signature is rejected. It is a similar story if you need to eSign a PDF for PayManager or other state treasury systems, which usually expect a DSC or an Aadhaar-based eSign. Better to know now than after an upload fails. For letters, declarations and internal forms, this page does the job.
How to sign a PDF digitally when an image signature is enough
Many people who ask how to sign a PDF digitally simply mean 'on a screen, not on paper'. If that is you, follow the steps at the top of this page. To sign PDF documents online with a digital signature in the strict, certificate sense, you will need a DSC provider. After signing here, you can protect the PDF with a password so that nobody opens it without your permission.
Can you verify an eSign PDF made here?
Not with a certificate check. When a reader shows a green tick for a verified signature, it is checking a cryptographic certificate. An image signature has no certificate, so there is nothing for a reader to verify in that way. If a receiver says they must verify the eSign on a PDF, they need a DSC or Aadhaar-based eSign, and you should sign through the provider they name. For everything else, a receiver verifies the way they always have: by comparing the signature with the one on file, or by asking you.
Sign PDF in Edge, Chrome, Safari or on a phone
There is no software to install before you sign a PDF, and no plug-in. The page runs in whatever browser you already have.
Sign PDF in Edge browser or Chrome on a computer
On Windows, you can sign a PDF in Edge or in Chrome the same way: open this page, select the file, sign, save. The PDF viewer built into the Edge browser only lets you scribble freehand. When you sign a PDF with Edge through this page, you can also type a signature, resize it cleanly and add a date. If you eSign a PDF in Edge at work, nothing needs admin rights.
Use it like a sign PDF app on iPhone and Android
You don't need an app from a store to sign a PDF. To eSign a PDF on iPhone, open this page in Safari, pick the document from Files, and sign with your finger. Android works the same in Chrome. People often search for an eSign PDF free download, but this tool works online: there is nothing to install and no free trial that turns into a paid plan later. The only thing you download is your signed file.
No sign PDF extension, installer or software to add
You do not need a sign PDF extension for Chrome or Edge, and there is no eSign PDF installer to run. Extensions that promise to sign PDFs usually ask to read every page you visit, which is a lot of access for one signature. This is a web page, not installed sign PDF software, so it needs no updates and takes no disk space.
Sign PDF from Google Drive, on Linux or a Chromebook
If your file lives in Google Drive, download it first, sign it here, then upload the signed copy back; Drive has no signing feature of its own. The same page lets you sign a PDF on Linux, where desktop PDF tools are scarce, and on a Chromebook, which runs Google Chrome and little else.
Your document stays on your device
Contracts, salary letters and ID forms are private, so this sign PDF tool works without uploading anything. Your browser opens the PDF, draws the signature on it and saves the result. We never receive the file or your signature.
That is the main difference from many eSign PDF online free services, which copy your document to their servers first. It also means signing keeps working on slow mobile data.
After you sign: next steps and common fixes
A few things people often need once the signature is on the page:
- Sign PDF to JPG: some portals want the signed page as a picture. Sign here, then convert the signed PDF to JPG.
- Already have your signature as a JPG or PNG photo? Open the PDF editor and use its Image button to place that picture on the page.
- Signed page plus other papers: merge the PDF files into one document. Do this only with image signatures. A certificate-based signature breaks when a file is merged.
- PDF won't open because it has a password? Unlock the PDF with the password first, then sign.